“We just want our kids to be equipped with the truth.”
Across the U. S., teachers are facing a difficult, changing landscape in the form of book and curriculum bans, threats of felony prosecution and more. On Thursday, Jan. 26, guest host Alfred “Shivy” Brooks joined teacher and host Sari Beth Rosenberg to lead a conversation about these attacks on educators and how they should respond.
The event was part of NewsHour Classroom’s Educator Voice Zoom series and was attended by teachers and school staff from across the U.S. The series brings together educators to discuss important issues of the day and how they impact the classroom.
As with all NewsHour Classroom Zoom sessions, the educator audience played an active role in the conversation. You can watch the full session here , or watch key moments below.
The conversation began with a discussion on Florida’s anti-CRT legislation. Jean Darnell , a school librarian from TX and author of the library advocacy blog Awaken Librarian , spoke about historical context and her fears for the implications if discriminatory legislation can remain unchecked. “What frustrates me — what scares me," said Darnell, "is that the powers that be and the people that can control, aren’t speaking up.”
Judd Legum , founder and author of accountability journalism newsletter Popular Info , joined to talk about his reporting from Manatee County, FL, where teachers were instructed to remove all books from their classroom libraries under threat of facing felony prosecution. When asked about his guesses for the future, Legum suggested potential avenues to address laws like the ones appearing in Florida, such as legal challenges and hyper-local school board elections.
Syd Golston , an author, retired Arizona principal and former NCSS president, offered advice for teachers: look to your state standards to vouch for your curriculum and go to your school’s administration for support. “It’s going to be helpful.”
Sari Beth Rosenberg shared her thoughts on the characterization of educators as groomers — “They’re taking our humanity away.” Rosenberg said she wants to shift the focus from demonized caricatures of teachers to the real, individual educators with whom most people have formed a connection. “You had at least one teacher that changed your life in some way… these are the teachers, for the most part, that we’re talking about here.”
Teachers have a common goal, said Shivy Brooks : “We just want our kids to be equipped with the truth.” Brooks wrapped up the conversation by discussing where this wave of anti-teacher sentiment could have come from and offering some advice: “I just encourage all teachers out there to [teach even if they are] afraid. To do it while risking. To do it while taking a chance.”
Following the conversation, Shivy Brooks and Sari Beth Rosenberg stayed online to talk with teacher and audience member Matt Hawn . Hawn was fired in 2021 after assigning materials about racism and white privilege by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kyla Jenee Lacey. Hawn shared his impressions on the discussion and gave advice for other teachers who might go through what he did: "It's tough. Because your story's going to hit and blow up all over the news, and then it's going to fade — but it's still going to be every day for you."
by Carolyn McCusker, assistant producer, PBS NewsHour Classroom
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